Rain and Music Boxes | Chapter 2
A Weiß Kreuz Fanfiction By Majokai Yukiko
Pairing: Crawford + Schuldich
This is an amateur effort and does not intend to infringe on the rights of Takehito Koyasu, Project Weiß and its associates.
A/N: This chapter is very badly written, by my own standards. My apologies to my readers for that. [Flu bug…^-^] Oh, have I ever mentioned that paper shredding is fun? I used to do that in my office [when I was working part time during my holidays] just to look busy. It is fun, very fun. Try drawing your employer's face on the paper and shred it…lovely…
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"Do you want that?" The young boy turned around and quickly shaded his eyes from the sun. The man behind him was tall; his height was almost intimidating to the boy of nine. But the young boy could not see his features at all. Was it because the sun shadowed it? Or was it some other reasons?
The man knelt down on one knee before him. Placing a hand on the boy's shoulders, the stranger pressed something cold and hard into the boy's hands.
"You know what to do with that, Schuldich. You are not that innocent."
"'Schuldich'? But that's not my name." The boy was confused. He looked at the object given to him, almost dropping it when he realized what it was.
"Go ahead and do what is in your nature to, guilty one."
It was a gun.
***
Schwarz Apartment
Tokyo, Japan
Crawford slammed his pen onto the wooden desk irritably. Pushing his chair away from the study table, he pulled his glasses off his face and massaged the bridge of his nose. He could almost feel the impending torture of a migraine creeping into his head. Body guarding is a lousy job, Crawford decided. But at least it pays.
"Come in," he muttered when a tentative knock sounded on his room door. Nagi poked his head into the room and offered his leader a slight smile.
"Knew it," the teenager muttered, a triumphant tone edging his voice.
"Knew what? Ah, bless you for that." The American took the cup of coffee from the boy's hands with the eagerness of an addict. "Just what I needed right now." Loosening his tie, Crawford emptied the cup with one quick swipe, ignoring the burning sensation flowing down his throat.
"Schuldich told me to make sure you get your daily caffeine fix." Nagi calmly replied. Throwing a quick glance at the thick pile of documents on the desk, he wondered if it was a good idea to ask what they were. Crawford would not appreciate him digging through them at any time of the day, especially without permission was not granted.
Crawford raised an eyebrow at the boy's words. Trust Schuldich to notice meager things like this, but bless him all the same.
It was almost strange. The apartment was uncomfortably empty without the redhead's presence. No Schuldich to irritate him by sprawling across the couch in the living room, carelessly switching channels as and when he likes. No Schuldich to prod through his mind like an inquisitive weasel. And most of all, no Schuldich to walk into his office like it was his bedroom and cheekily put some of his important paperwork through the electronic paper shredder for fun.
"Crawford?" The American blinked at the hand waving violently before his eyes. "What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing. Nagi, why not you take a walk around the neighborhood to familiarize yourself with it? I might not have time to drive you to school every morning."
***
Takatori Villa
Berlin, Germany
"And they really believe in it?"
"Uh-huh, silly, isn't it? To think that it is possible to resurrect the dead." Schuldich popped another walnut into his mouth and grinned at the man sitting opposite him.
It had been a month since he arrived at the villa. Throughout this time, Hirofumi was nothing if not polite to him, confirming his earlier suspicion about the lack of entertainment value in this mission. Thankfully, Schuldich finally managed to find a conversation topic that interests them both: gossips about the three Estet elders.
"Tell me more about that. So what do they say? Abracadabra?"
"Nay, I have no idea, really." Schuldich replied. Hirofumi was so different from what he was used to back in Japan. For the first time since he joined Schwarz, he actually got to talk his fill and talk he would!
"There was never a proper ceremony carried out yet. They couldn't seem to be able to find the sacrifice for it."
"Tell me," Hirofumi pushed his glasses up his nose and looked squarely into the German's sapphire eyes. His tone was serious. Finally, playtime was over. "Schuldich, what is the real reason for you to be here?"
Schuldich's expression remained unchanged.
"And why," he sneered. Scrutinizing the other man's form with half lidded eyes, he smirked, his tongue darting out to taste the bits of walnut left on the edge of his lips. " Do you think I will tell you the truth?"
"I was hoping you would."
The younger man pushed himself off the couch and made his way back to his room. "You hoped wrong."
"Wait," Hirofumi implored. For some reason, he was afraid that he had offended the other man. No matter how irritating or childish Schuldich was, he was still one of Estet's prized assassins, and it could not be without a reason. Offending him would be dangerous; any child would have realized that. "Do you believe in the devil? Do you believe in what your organization believe in?"
"There is only one man I believe in without question. And he is not God." Schuldich answered simply. Giving a backward glance at the Japanese, he grinned. "All my life I have not seen a vision that could save or damn my soul. Get what I mean?"
Hirofumi nodded.
***
A park
Tokyo, Japan
Nagi sat down alone on the park bench. The sun was warm on his skin. This was the city he had been brought up in, and it was the same city that he hated so much. It might have been a cradle for him, but as far as Nagi was concerned, it was a cradle of thorns.
"Hey, watch out!" A voice yelled. Telekinetically moving the flying ball from its path, Nagi ducked a little, creating the illusion that the ball had missed him by a mere inch.
"I'm sorry." A young man with dark brown hair came running towards him, a slight blush tinting his face. Scratching his head nervously, he smiled at Nagi.
"Gomen, I was just playing soccer with some kids, and I kinda…missed. Sorry if it hit you."
"It didn't." Nagi replied coldly. Who was this man? He wondered. And why was he apologizing as if he had almost killed me? People never bothered if they hurt him.
"Er…did you just move into this area?" The young man asked. "I never seen you around before."
"I just moved in two days ago."
"Oh, hey, since you are alone, want to play with us? I'm sure the kids won't mind having a new friend." The young man jogged to where the ball was and kicked it back in the direction of the field for the others to continue playing without him.
Nagi shook his head.
"My doctor says I should not do strenuous exercise." As if the stress on my mind was not already bad enough.
"Oh…" The young man smiled sadly, a look of pity passing his face briefly. "I worked at the florist over there!" He pointed in a general direction. "Koneko no sume le. Look me up when you have time! Welcome to the neighborhood!" And he ran off to join the rest on the field.
Nagi rolled his eyes and continued to enjoy the soft breeze in the park. Kitten in the House, he thought. Just the sort of name that Schuldich would say 'cute!!' to.
End of Chapter 2
Continue to Chapter 3